New Instant Racing games, machines OK'd for Kentucky Downs

Apr. 10, 2013

Instant Racing machines at Kentucky Downs Race Track

Written by

The Courier-Journal

LEXINGTON, KY. — The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved four new games and 40 new machines for the controversial Instant Racing parlor at Kentucky Downs on Tuesday, but not before one commission member questioned whether the new games further blur the line on the legality of the slot-like game.

Opponents say it’s a slot machine while the commission and tracks argue it’s a legal form of pari-mutuel wagering. A case involving the commission regarding the legality of the game is before the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Instant Racing “was stretching the interpretation of the statute to start with and this is further down that road moving away from historic races,” commission member Ned Bonnie said. “As far as I can see there’s not a reference to a historic race with (new games such as) Pigs in Mud and Bayou Bash.”

Commission Chairman Bob Beck told Bonnie a commission expert has deemed the new games to be pari-mutuel. Kentucky law forbids wagering outside of pari-mutuel wagering, the lottery and charitable gambling.

Bonnie abstained in the approval of the new games and the new machines that otherwise passed unopposed.

Instant Racing allows bettors to place wagers on old horse races – the identities of which aren’t revealed until after the bet is made – using a device that more closely resembles a slot machine.

The commission has ruled that the game is a legal form of pari-mutuel wagering, since bets are pooled against other players rather than against the house.

That finding was upheld by a Franklin Circuit Court judge in a case filed by the commission and the state’s racetracks to resolve any question over the game’s legality. The Family Foundation of Kentucky, which opposes expanded gambling, intervened in the case – which is now before the Supreme Court after a Court of Appeals panel ruled that the district judge erred in not allowing the Family Foundation to interview witnesses and request evidence.

Martin Cothran, a spokesman for the Family Foundation, said he doesn’t know whether Bonnie’s comments help their case, but that it “sounds like the commission is running headlong into their own logic. This is a slippery slope right into full-blown, unrestricted casino-style gambling.”

Bonnie said after the meeting that he doesn’t believe his comments will have an impact in the case since the commission didn’t respond to his concerns.

Bonnie said during the meeting that he was surprised Kentucky Downs was adding wagers while the lawsuit is ongoing. Bonnie said he wants the commission to win the lawsuit, but he wondered whether the new games move “further away from” traditional pari-mutuel betting.

“We’re not out of this (lawsuit) jackpot yet,” he said.

He questioned whether the handicapping aspect of Instant Racing – where players get limited information to make a selection – is a “charade.”.

Reporter Gregory A. Hall can be reached at (502) 582-4087 and on Twitter @gregoryahall.